Savitri Jindal, India's Wealthiest Woman, Switches Allegiance to BJP

India's richest woman and former Haryana minister, Savitri Jindal, made headlines by defecting from the Congress party to join the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ahead of the upcoming Lok Sabha elections in 2024. This significant move follows her son, industrialist Naveen Jindal's recent departure from the Congress to align with the BJP.

The 84-year-old's decision to switch parties was announced at an event in Haryana's Hisar, attended by Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini and former CM Manohar Lal Khattar. Savitri cited familial advice as the driving force behind her departure from the Congress, emphasizing her strong bond with the people of Hisar, whom she represented for a decade as an MLA and served selflessly as a minister in the previous government.

Savitri's political journey took a turn in 2014 when she lost the Hisar seat to BJP's Dr. Kamal Gupta, who currently holds a ministerial position in the state government. With a net worth of $29.1 billion, Savitri Jindal was named India's wealthiest woman by Forbes, succeeding her late husband, industrialist O P Jindal.

Meanwhile, her son Naveen Jindal, now a BJP candidate from Kurukshetra, expressed his eagerness to contribute to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's 'Viksit Bharat' agenda. However, amidst these political transitions, Naveen's company, Jindal Steel and Power Limited (JSPL), faces scrutiny from the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the Enforcement Directorate (ED) over alleged irregularities in coal block allocation and money laundering charges.